Brazilian Military History: Perspectives on History Writing

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Brazilian Military History: Perspectives on History Writing Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: D History, Archaeology & Anthropology Volume 21 Issue 2 Version 1.0 Year 2021 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X Brazilian Military History: Perspectives on History Writing By Fabio da Silva Pereira Universidade Salgado de Oliveira Abstract- The article aims to present historiographical perspectives for Military History theory. For this, the researchers had access to specialized bibliography to contextualize classics of the three strands, analyzing how history is written from the 19th century to contemporary times. The Traditional, Marxist, and New History currents, concomitant with examples described in works in Military History, received decisive contributions to professional improvement in scientific activity throughout this period. In this way, it provides young researchers with the opportunity to innovate and find new information to deepen the historical knowledge of Military History issues: leaders, institutions, mentality, and values. Keywords: brazilian historiography, theory of history, brazilian military history, history writing. GJHSS-D Classification: FOR Code: 430299 BrazilianMilitaryHistoryPerspectivesonHistoryWriting Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: © 2021. Fabio da Silva Pereira. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Brazilian Military History: Perspectives on History Writing Fabio da Silva Pereira Abstract 1- The article aims to present historiographical it is possible to understand that currently, what we call perspectives for Military History theory. For this, the “history is seen from above” shows the acts of great researchers had access to specialized bibliography to leaders and the battles and consequences of the action contextualize classics of the three strands, analyzing how for transformations that are more focused on politics history is written from the 19th century to contemporary times. than on society. The Traditional, Marxist, and New History currents, The second stage began at the dawn of the concomitant with examples described in works in Military 1900s, with impacts from that reflection years later, History, received decisive contributions to professional 2021 improvement in scientific activity throughout this period. In this especially in France. The creation of Annales d’historie way, it provides young researchers with the opportunity to économique et sociale. The dissatisfaction that the ear Y innovate and find new information to deepen the historical young historian’s Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre 13 knowledge of Military History issues: leaders, institutions, showed, in the 1910s and 1920s, about to link political mentality, and values. history to the relative poverty of their analyses, reducing Keywords: brazilian historiography, theory of history, complex historical situations to a simple power game brazilian military history, history writing. between large ones – men or countries – ignoring that, below and beyond it, there were structural, collective I. Introduction and individual fields of forces that gave it density and he narrative from different angles calls attention to depth incompatible with what seemed to be the frivolity a closer look based on observing the phenomena of events. Bloch and Febvre founded the Annales Tthat involve people in time. Therefore, the present magazine, in addition to producing significant personal study intends to elucidate the transformations of work, to make it an instrument for enriching history, for contemporary historiography in the face of the military its approximation with neighboring sciences, and the theme. Synthetically, historiography passed through encouragement of thematic innovation (Burke, 1991). three periods of great relevance: the first stage They sought to highlight, in a different way, the "history ) D corresponded to the historical perception of Leopold seen from below," with the contributions of soldiers who ( von Ranke. Leopold von Ranke (1795 - 1886) is experienced conflicts and changes in the institutional Volume XXI Issue II Version I considered one of the forerunners of scientific history in landscape over time, shifting the focus to more social the nineteenth century. He stood out for spreading the history, with a reduced scope among the categories to importance of the wide use of documentary sources, be analyzed. Furthermore, the observation of the points including "memoirs, diaries, personal and formal letters, that generated some tension between these same government letters, diplomatic pouches and texts, classes was still under the vision of this generation of - and first-hand testimonies from eyewitnesses for historians who prevailed in the scientific scene until the argumentative composition; and by trying to narrate end of the 1970s. history as it occurred. He focused basically in the writing The third and last historiographic current, the of history centered on facts, places, and leaders. Thus, nouvelle histoire – the new history in French, also brought new approaches. It is possible to observe the Author: Ph.D. Student Researcher at Salgado de Oliveira University methodological resource of oral history, the growing (UNIVERSO). Member of the Scientific Committee of the Military History appreciation of biographies, the interdisciplinary, and Working Group of the National History Association, Rio de Janeiro section (Anpuh - RJ). Professor of Military History, approved for Specific the expansion of documents to be consulted beyond the Functional Qualification Teaching (QFE) at Academia Militar das political and institutional perspective. As a result, an Agulhas Negras (AMAN). Tutor of Brazilian History at the Federal Global Journal of Human Social Science infinity of research on the military theme appears on a University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). Degree in History at scale never seen before, having as a political the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Master in Military Operations at Escola de Aperfeiçoamento de Oficiais(EsAO), consequence the recent creation of Thematic Groups of 2 Master in Public Administration at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Military History in the National Association of History Master in Military Education at Centro de Estudos de Pessoal e Forte (A npuh), in Brazil. Duque de Caxias(CEP/FDC). e-mail: [email protected] 2 The Military History Working Group of the National History 1 Academicadvisor: Dr. Fernando da Silva RODRIGUES (UNIVERSO) Association, Rio de Janeiro section (Anpuh/RJ), created in 2016, aims My special thanks to Professor M. Ed. Arlindo José de BARROS to bring together professionals in the area of Human Sciences and JUNIOR (AMAN), who kindly reviewed this study. Social Sciences dedicated to research and teaching in its various ©2021 Global Journals Brazilian Military History: Perspectives on History Writing To facilitate the achievement of the research scientific as the theories we have today. Contrary to this, specific objectives were presented, whose what we have always seen in scientific manuals, science organization is based on the contextualization and is not the gradual accumulation of knowledge but the observation of some transformations that characterize complex relationship between theories, data, and the rupture of paradigms in the craft of writing history. To paradigms (Bartelmebs, 2012). It will be interesting to achieve this goal, searches for documents were carried point this traditional paradigm as "Ranke’s history" after out as well as a study of the structured bibliography by the great German Historian Leopold von Ranke, specialists on the subject. although this was less limited by him than his followers Regarding the methodology, the base of the (Burke, 2011). present work is on the contributions of Barros (2013), a) Traditional History Cardoso and Vainfas (2012), according to the following The past we study is just a construct of our classifications: regarding the type (or objective), it is minds (Hobsbawm, 2013). In principle, this is as valid as descriptive research, and, about the methodological the other, whether or not it is supported by logic and procedures, it consists of a bibliographic and evidence. Professor Francisco Falcon3, in one of his documental analysis. classes on the theory of history, emphasized the 2021 II. Literature Review historian's commitment to the truth, but this does not ear become absolute: it is a responsibility that the history Y The transformations in history writing concern professional assumes when analyzing the sources they 14 what has happened between historians and other have. Any narrative without scientific proof runs the risk academic researchers in the past. They include surveys of becoming a fictional work, that is, a non-history one. and critical assessments of various trends in history, as The superficial logic and common sense bring well as interventions in debates. The Historian Eric the idea that there are no arguments against facts; Hobsbawm vigorously defends the view that what however, the appearance of new methodologies historians investigate is real (Hobsbawm, 2013). The broadens the debate about them. In this aspect, the point
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